ABOVE: A young man named Hylas learns the hard way never to trust a nymph (and especially not a pool full of them).

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Out of all the mythologies of the world, Greek mythology has had the most influence on Western culture. Literally thousands
of artists and writers have used Greek mythology as their muse--bringing
the ancient stories to life through sculpture, painting, poetry, and
song. Myth-inspired phrases such as Achilles Heel
and Oedipus Complex and stand-alone words like labyrinth
and mentor
proliferate our language. Media other than high art use mythological
references too. Businesses and advertising firms use mythology as a selling tool. Arethusa Plumbing references Arethusa (a nymph
transformed into a spring), a diamond necklace is titled a Pandora
for its irresistibility, and towering billboards bear the name Olympus.
All these examples show how culturally ingrained Greek mythology has
become. Together with the Bible and Shakespeare, Greek mythology rounds out the Big Three of Allusions. Any serious student of literature must have a healthy background in these three areas in order to spot the numerous references authors make to them.

In this myth Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, abducts Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. Because of the events of this story, the seasons of the year come into being.

For more information on Reader's Theater and its benefits in the
secondary classroom, make sure to visit the Reader's Theater section of
this website. To purchase Zak Hamby's collections of mythological plays visit the store or see the Amazon link at the bottom of the page.

Design a doll based on a female character from Greek mythology. Students must create three features (things Barbie can do) and three accessories (cheap, plastic things that come with the doll) that relate to the character. There are also sections for advertising another doll related to this one and designing a vehicle for the doll to use. This is a very fun activity, and the students often get very creative. It really allows the students to show their humor. Also included in the PDF is an example of "Athena Barbie."

Four sets of charades prompts (divided per unit as outlined in the sample mythology course outline on this website). Charades works as a great way to review important information from each unit. Give students approximately 30 seconds to act out these clues.

This extensive webquest features information about the way in which
the ancient Greeks lived and thought. Learn about the most
famous Greeks and how society today would not be possible if the Greeks
had not come first.

As it was mentioned before, Greek mythology claims the most
influence on modern art, Literature, and language. This assignment
teaches students the concept of Allusion, allows them to identify
several mythological allusions, and then asks them to create their own
allusion by developing a product that could be tied into Greek
mythology. The second file is a document containing 28 Greek
myth-inspired poems for your students to use in conjunction with the
allusion packet. Please do not redistribute these poems. They are for
educational purposes only.